South Dakota pesticide and fertilizer record rules for lawn care companies

Last reviewed October 11, 2026 · 7 min read

The short answer

In South Dakota, each applicator keeps a record of each pesticide application, general use and restricted use alike (DANR’s sample form adds 25(b) minimum risk products): the name and address of the person it was applied for, the location of the property, the pest, the area treated, the year, month, day and time, who applied it, the trade or brand name and common name, the company name on the label, the wind direction, estimated wind velocity and temperature, the amount applied and its concentration, and the site treated. Records must be complete and available to DANR at the close of each day, kept three years, and given to the customer on a written request. DANR does not allow supervised applications: each person making an application needs their own license. South Dakota’s rules have no lawn sign or customer notice requirement for turf.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change and can depend on what you apply and where. Confirm what applies to your business with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the product label before you rely on anything here.

Who regulates lawn care applicators

The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) trains, certifies and licenses pesticide applicators and licenses pesticide dealers, under SDCL chapter 38-21, administrative rules Article 12:56 and the federal FIFRA. The law lets the secretary make rules requiring commercial and private applicators to keep any application records the secretary finds necessary, and those rules are in ARSD chapter 12:56:07.

The secretary may enter premises at reasonable times to inspect pesticide equipment, storage and treated land and to examine any records the chapter requires. Refusing or neglecting to keep the required records, or making false records, invoices or reports, can bring suspension, revocation, denial or modification of a license, a Class 2 misdemeanor and a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation.

State law and rules preempt any local ordinance, resolution or rule of a city, county or other political subdivision about the use, application, sale, storage or disposal of pesticides and commercial fertilizer; zoning, fire and building codes and waste disposal limits are not affected.

Sources: DANR “Pesticide Applicators and Dealers” page, SDCL chapter 38-21 Agricultural Pesticide Application, ARSD Article 12:56 Pesticides (chapters 12:56:01 to 12:56:18), SDCL 39-1-17 Preemption of local regulation of certain seed, commercial fertilizer, commercial feed, animal remedies, and pesticide

Licenses you need

Commercial applicator’s license: no one may engage in, or advertise, the business of applying pesticides to the lands of another without one. A commercial applicator is a certified applicator, 18 years of age or older. The fee is $35.
No supervised applications: DANR does not allow them, so each person making an application must have their own applicator license.
Ornamental and turf: commercial applicators who control pests in the maintenance of ornamental trees, shrubs and flowers and of turf must be certified for ornamental and turf pest control. DANR’s category 4, Ornamental & Turf, covers lawns, parks, athletic fields, cemeteries and golf courses and the ornamental plants in them. Work in or around homes, schools and other structures is category 8, not category 4.
Exams: every commercial applicator passes the category G General (core) exam plus each category exam for the work they do, with a score of at least 70 percent. A failed exam may be retaken three days after notice of the failure.
Keeping certification: pass a written exam with at least 70 percent every two years, or attend a certification course held under DANR’s direction.
Expiry: the statute says a commercial applicator’s license expires on March 31 of the second year after the year it was issued; DANR’s page says certification and licensure must be recertified and renewed by the last day of February in the year of expiration. A license that expires without renewal can be replaced only after passing the examination again.
One license at a time: no applicator may hold more than one applicator’s license, and a private applicator’s license becomes invalid when the person is issued a commercial license. The secretary may limit a license to certain pesticides, areas or types of equipment.
Restricted use pesticides: only a licensed person may buy or use them.
Working without a required commercial license is a Class 2 misdemeanor and can bring a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation.

Tip: An applicator who tested in and holds a current commercial applicator license from Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota or Wyoming may ask DANR for reciprocity; once DANR has verified the categories with that state and copied them to the applicator’s South Dakota record, the applicator pays the $35 license fee. South Dakota’s bond and liability insurance rules were repealed in 1977, and no bond or insurance requirement appears in chapter 38-21 or Article 12:56.

Sources: SDCL chapter 38-21 Agricultural Pesticide Application, DANR “Pesticide Applicators and Dealers” page, ARSD Article 12:56 Pesticides (chapters 12:56:01 to 12:56:18), DANR “South Dakota Commercial CERTIFICATION Categories for Pesticide Applicators & Dealers” (current as of 09/01/2024), DANR “South Dakota Commercial Pesticide Applicator and/or Dealer License Application Form” (revised 10/18/2024), DANR reciprocity guide (updated October 2022)

What to record for each application

Each applicator must keep a record of each application (ARSD 12:56:07:01), and DANR’s sample form says it is required for general use pesticides, restricted use pesticides and 25(b) minimum risk products. Each record holds:

The name and address of the person for whom the pesticide was applied
The location of the property where it was applied
The pest to be treated
The acreage, area, or number of plants or animals treated, or another appropriate description
The year, month, day and time it was applied
The person who applied it
The trade or brand name and the common name of the pesticide
The company name appearing on the product label
The weather at the time of application, including the wind direction, the estimated wind velocity and the temperature (not for bait in bait stations or applications in or right next to structures)
The amount applied and its concentration, in pounds or gallons per unit or percentage of active ingredient per unit
The specific crop, designated site or commodity treated (DANR lists “lawn” and “turf” among the sites)

DANR’s sample form also asks for the start and finish time, the applicator’s license number, the EPA registration number, the weather source (Mesonet, NWS or other) and the wind speed at 6.5 feet above the ground, and says additional records required by a pesticide label must be kept with them.

For the weather, the department considers reports from nearby federal airport stations (National Weather Service ASOS / AWOS) or South Dakota Mesonet stations acceptable, and a handheld meter may substitute for wind speed, wind direction and temperature. Website or app reports built from computer models or personally owned stations should never replace those, and wind speed averaged over at least 2 minutes is used, not wind gusts.

Sources: ARSD Article 12:56 Pesticides (chapters 12:56:01 to 12:56:18), DANR “South Dakota Pesticide Applicator Recordkeeping Requirements” sample form (July 2024), “Weather for Recordkeeping” memo to South Dakota chemical applicators from the director of SD Mesonet (January 23, 2019)

How long to keep records and who can ask for them

Complete every application record and have it available to DANR for inspection at the close of each day.
Keep application records three years from the date of application, and furnish a copy to DANR on request.
On a written request, a commercial applicator must give the customer a record of each pesticide application made to the customer’s land.
No more than once in five years (more often if needed to protect public health), DANR may require a summary of the previous year by county: site treated, pest, trade and common name, active ingredient per gallon or percent, and total volume used. A license or certification is not renewed until a requested summary is submitted; summaries are confidential unless used in an area or statewide usage report or subpoenaed.
Anyone may report pesticide damage or an incident to the secretary on DANR’s form within 30 days after it was observed or occurred. A person claiming damages must notify the applicator by certified mail within 30 days and let the applicator and up to four representatives examine it.

Where your crew mixes, loads, transfers or rinses pesticides and equipment, such as the shop or yard, you must work from a written pesticide handling and discharge response plan, kept current and available for inspection, and train employees who use and handle pesticides in it at least once a year, and new employees no later than three days after they start those duties. A discharge of more than 25 pounds of active ingredient outside containment at such a site must be reported to DANR, with written documentation of the cause, recovery, sampling, analysis and disposal within 30 days. Containment and registration apply only above set thresholds (for example more than 1,500 pounds of active ingredient handled a year) or near water, wells or occupied buildings.

Sources: ARSD Article 12:56 Pesticides (chapters 12:56:01 to 12:56:18), DANR “South Dakota Pesticide Applicator Recordkeeping Requirements” sample form (July 2024), SDCL chapter 38-21 Agricultural Pesticide Application, DANR “Pesticide Handling, Use and Storage” page

Customer notice, posting and lawn signs

The law allows DANR to make rules requiring posting of application sites and notice to people who may be affected, but Article 12:56 contains no posting, customer notice or lawn sign rule for turf. Label-required posting still applies. The customer’s record of each application, given on their written request, is the one paper the customer is owed.

As a preventive measure, DANR suggests checking FieldWatch (specialty crops and beehives) and EPA’s Bulletins Live! Two before spraying; it presents these as suggestions, not as a state record or notice rule.

Sources: SDCL chapter 38-21 Agricultural Pesticide Application, ARSD Article 12:56 Pesticides (chapters 12:56:01 to 12:56:18), DANR “Check Before You Spray” page

Fertilizer rules

South Dakota’s fertilizer law licenses the person whose name is on a fertilizer label or who manufactures or mixes fertilizer in the state, at $25 per location; it sets no license for people who only apply fertilizer.

The law lets DANR make rules on fertilizer application, posting and notice, but the fertilizer rules (Article 12:44) cover only anhydrous ammonia, bulk storage and inspection fees, with no applicator record, phosphorus or nitrogen limit, blackout dates or setbacks for turf. Cities and counties may not adopt their own fertilizer rules.

Sources: SDCL chapter 38-19 Commercial Fertilizer, DANR “Fertilizer Program” page, ARSD Article 12:44 Commercial Fertilizer, SDCL 39-1-17 Preemption of local regulation of certain seed, commercial fertilizer, commercial feed, animal remedies, and pesticide

How GroundsQuote’s chemical records line up

GroundsQuote keeps an application record for each chemical a crew puts down on a job. On a job at a property in South Dakota, Finish job asks the crew for the details South Dakota lists, and the records export with the columns in South Dakota’s order. Here is each item South Dakota lists, set against what the record actually holds. Keeping the record complete and correct is still your responsibility.

South Dakota record items and GroundsQuote’s chemical application record
South Dakota asks for	In GroundsQuote	Status
Name and address of the person for whom it was applied	Customer name and mailing address	Recorded
Location of the property	Address, unit number (on the property), city, state, ZIP and county	Recorded
Pest to be treated	Target pest, set for each chemical on the job	Recorded
Acreage, area or number treated	Area treated (sq ft)	Recorded
Year, month, day and time applied	Date and time applied, with the job’s start and finish times, recorded when the crew starts and finishes it (the office can correct them)	Recorded
Person who applied it	Applied by: everyone who applied it, with each one’s license number when license-keeping is switched on	Recorded
Trade or brand name and common name	Product name and active ingredients, from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Company name on the label	Manufacturer, from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Weather: wind direction, estimated wind velocity and temperature	The nearest National Weather Service station’s reading at the start and finish of the job, and conditions on site (offered on South Dakota jobs); when only a forecast is available, the crew is asked to enter what they measured	Recorded
Amount applied and its concentration	Total used, rate applied and use dilution (%), offered on South Dakota jobs, with the product’s concentration from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Specific crop, site or commodity treated	Where on the property (front lawn, beds, fence line… or a description), required on South Dakota jobs at Finish job	Recorded
Sample form: license number, EPA number, start and finish time, wind at 6.5 feet	License number, EPA Reg. No. and the job’s start and finish times; the height of the wind reading is not recorded	Partly
Additional records the label requires	“Other records the label requires”, offered at Finish job on South Dakota jobs	Recorded
Record complete at the close of each day	Finish job saves the record when the job is finished and says it is due the same day; the Schedule lists South Dakota chemical jobs finished without a record	Recorded
A record of each application for the customer on written request	The application statement for each job (print or email) and the records export; GroundsQuote does not track the request or build one report of every application on a property	Partly
Summary of the previous year by county, on DANR’s request	Totals for a year or a month by county or product in the records export; sending it to DANR is yours	Partly
Written handling and discharge response plan, with yearly training and training within three days of starting	A plan template to print and fill in (the rule’s six parts, suggested starting points, who to call and a training log), a reminder on Finish job and training records for each person; you write and keep the plan, and GroundsQuote does not check training dates	Partly

Check that each person named on a record holds their own South Dakota license (GroundsQuote reminds you at Finish job but does not stop an unlicensed person being named on a general use line), and give customers their records when they ask in writing. Write and keep the handling and discharge response plan (GroundsQuote prints a template), report discharges to DANR, renew and recertify licenses and send any requested county summary yourself.

Everything a GroundsQuote application record holds

When:: Date and time applied (when the job was finished), job start and finish times (the office can correct them), each chemical’s own start and finish when several go down on one job, and when people may go back onto the lawn (from the label’s re-entry interval)
Where:: Customer name, phone and mailing address, street address, unit number, city, state, ZIP and county of the property, and where on the property it went (front lawn, beds, fence line…)
Who:: Everyone who applied it (the crew riding that day starts checked) and the person supervising, trainees and people who planned it, with each one’s standing (certified, registered technician, trained, not certified or registered), license number, certification or ID number, category and expiry, and the business license when license-keeping is switched on
Product:: Name, type, manufacturer, EPA registration number, state registration number, EUP / Section 18 / 24(c) number, active ingredients, scientific name, concentration, N-P-K and slow-release %, formulation, restricted-use flag, signal word, re-entry interval, the label’s precautions, and copies of the label, safety data sheet and fact sheets on file
Amounts:: Rate applied (per area), area treated in sq ft, total product used (and product and tank mix per acre in the export), mix ratio, use dilution (%), water or carrier (gallons, and the carrier when it is not water), gallons of mix applied, devices placed, lb of N and P per 1,000 sq ft
Job:: Target pest and the equipment used (both set on the job), where the pesticide was bought or supplied from, the vehicle or sprayer’s license plate, where it was mixed and loaded, permit number, other records the label requires, the supervisor’s instructions, whether the drift plan was used, a review sign-off with the reviewer’s license number and corrective action, a map of the treated area attached to the job, service and crew; your business name, address and phone
Weather:: From the nearest weather station at the start and finish (temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, gusts, rain in the last hour, conditions), and the conditions on site: the crew confirms the station reading or enters the wind, direction and temperature they measured
Your state:: Each job follows the rules of the state its property is in: Finish job asks for the details that state lists and waits until they are filled in, and the records export in that state’s column order
Paperwork:: An application statement for each job to print, leave or email (each product with its EPA number, active ingredients, type, purpose, rate, amount and mix, where on the property, the date and time, who applied it, the re-entry time and your notes for the customer, with the state’s own lines), and lawn signs laid out from the state’s rule
Kept beside the records:: Each person’s training, ID copies and certificates and what they are responsible for; neighbor requests and notices, registry notices and attempts, notices given to customers, signed waivers and contracts, each with a copy of the paper; soil tests per property; incidents, disposal and purchases in the chemical logs; totals for a year or a month by county, supervisor or product; whether a customer agreed in writing to get application information by email
Changes:: Corrections are saved as history; the earlier record is kept
Reminders:: Finish job reminds the crew of the state’s own steps (a record deadline, trainee paperwork) and warns when a restricted-use chemical has nobody certified applying or supervising it; the schedule lists chemical jobs left without a record in states with a deadline

See how it works on the job in chemical records and field tools, or read about GroundsQuote for lawn treatment companies.

Official sources

Everything on this page comes from these South Dakota sources, checked on October 11, 2026. Read them for the full text and any changes since.

Keep application records as the crew finishes the job

Set the chemicals each service uses once. The crew sees the planned amounts for each lawn, and finishing the job saves the record with the product, rate, area, applicator and weather.

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Questions

Do I need records for general use products, or only restricted use?

Both. Each applicator must keep a record of each application, and DANR’s sample form says the record is required for general use pesticides, restricted use pesticides and 25(b) minimum risk products.

When must the record be finished, and how long do I keep it?

All application records must be completed and available to DANR for inspection at the close of each day, and kept three years from the date of application. A copy goes to DANR on request.

Can a weather station reading cover the weather item?

The department considers reports from nearby National Weather Service airport stations (ASOS / AWOS) or South Dakota Mesonet stations acceptable, and a handheld meter may substitute. Reports built from computer models should not replace them, and wind averaged over at least 2 minutes is used, not gusts. GroundsQuote records the nearest National Weather Service station’s reading, and when only a forecast is available it asks the crew to enter what they measured.

Can an unlicensed crew member apply under a licensed applicator?

No. DANR does not allow supervised applications: each person making an application must have their own applicator license.

Do I need lawn signs or to notify customers in South Dakota?

No. Article 12:56 contains no posting, customer notice or lawn sign rule for turf, and state law preempts local pesticide ordinances. Label-required posting still applies, and a commercial applicator must give the customer a record of each application on a written request.

Does South Dakota have a turf fertilizer law for lawn care companies?

We found none. The fertilizer law licenses the person whose name is on the label or who manufactures or mixes fertilizer, at $25 per location, and the fertilizer rules set no applicator record, phosphorus or nitrogen limit, blackout dates or setbacks for turf.